Surrey, B.C., residents divided over new cyclist route

Some Surrey residents are are worried that a new bike path through the city will bring “rat traffic” into their neighbourhood.

The residents are divided over a new bridge that will span Bon Accord Creek that will close the break in 110 Avenue and connect the bike lanes on 143a and 141 Streets. Locals are worried that the bridge will attract crime at night in the creek, or will put pedestrians at risk because of falling trees.

Ron Winbow lives in a home that backs onto the ravine. “The bridge is in the shadow of those trees. What happens if one of them comes down? It’s goodbye bridge and anyone that’s on it,” he said to the CBC.

“RCMP have stated that it would open up what they consider to be ‘rat traffic,'” said Kevin Preston, who also lives beside the creek. “That’s their terminology—that it will allow the unsavoury to move from one neighbourhood to the next.”

The bridge will span 65 m and have a 3-m wide walking and cycling path. It will include three streetlamps.

Other areas of the bike path that will run between City Centre and Port Mann Bridge will be upgraded for safety and to make the route more alluring to cyclists. The entire project is expected to cost $2 million and be finished mid-summer 2014.

The city held an information session to hear concerns from the community on Dec. 2, but the plan appears to be moving forward.

“It’s like a lot of things in Surrey—it’s coming. I think with the development of our city centre, we’re seeing the densities in there. We’re seeing cycling on the rise, so we think this will very much complement that,” said Philip Bellefontaine, Surrey’s transportation manager.